Odyssey (Yngwie Malmsteen album)
1988 studio album by Yngwie Malmsteen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Odyssey is the fourth studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released on 8 April 1988 through Polydor Records.[3] The album reached No. 40 on the US Billboard 200[4] and remained on that chart for eighteen weeks,[5] as well as reaching the top 50 in five other countries.[3] As of 2021, it remains Malmsteen's highest-charting release on the Billboard 200.[5]
- Cherokee (Hollywood)
- House of Music (West Orange)
- Studio D (Austin)
| Odyssey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 8 April 1988 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:42 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Yngwie Malmsteen, Jeff Glixman, Jim Lewis | |||
| Yngwie Malmsteen chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Odyssey | ||||
Background
The album was released under the name "Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force." Jeff Glixman was brought in as producer, and his manager, Larry Mazer, who also managed Joe Lynn Turner, facilitated Turner's participation on the album as vocalist. During the production process, Yngwie faced several personal tragedies: on 22 June 1987 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, he crashed his Jaguar E-Type into a tree and remained in a coma for eight days, and in January 1988 he lost his mother, Rigmor, to cancer.
In terms of sales performance, the album ranked within the top 50 on the charts of nine countries. On the Billboard 200, it remained on the chart for eighteen weeks and reached a peak position of number 40, which, as of 2021, is the highest chart position achieved by any of Yngwie's releases.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[7] |
| Metal Forces | 6.5/10[8] |
Steve Huey at AllMusic gave Odyssey two stars out of five, calling it "a more subdued, polished collection seemingly designed for mainstream radio airplay", but that it "shows little difference in approach from [Malmsteen's] previous output". He praised Joe Lynn Turner's vocals and Malmsteen's guitar work, but remarked that the latter sounds "constrained and passionless" due in part to his recovery from a near-fatal car accident in 1987.[6]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Joe Lynn Turner; all music is composed by Yngwie Malmsteen.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rising Force" | 4:24 |
| 2. | "Hold On" | 5:12 |
| 3. | "Heaven Tonight" | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Dreaming (Tell Me)" | 5:22 |
| 5. | "Bite the Bullet" (instrumental) | 1:35 |
| 6. | "Riot in the Dungeons" | 4:26 |
| 7. | "Deja Vu" | 4:17 |
| 8. | "Crystal Ball" | 4:56 |
| 9. | "Now Is the Time" | 4:34 |
| 10. | "Faster Than the Speed of Light" | 4:30 |
| 11. | "Krakatau" (instrumental) | 6:06 |
| 12. | "Memories" (instrumental) | 1:14 |
| Total length: | 50:42 | |
Personnel
- Yngwie Malmsteen – guitar, Moog Taurus, bass (tracks 3–7, 10–12), arrangement, producer
- Joe Lynn Turner – vocals (except for tracks 5, 11 & 12)
- Jens Johansson – keyboard
- Anders Johansson – drums
- Bob Daisley – bass (tracks 1, 2, 8, 9)
- Jeff Glixman – engineer, producer
- John Rolio – engineer
- Scott Gordon – assistant engineer, assistant mixing engineer
- Steve Thompson – mixing
- Michael Barbiero – mixing
- George Cowan – assistant mixing engineer
- Jim Lewis – executive producer
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] | 75 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] | 27 |
| European Albums (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] | 40 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 50 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13] | 19 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] | 10 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] | 7 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] | 17 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 27 |
| US Billboard 200[18] | 40 |
| US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[19] | 40 |
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | — | 42,000[13] |
| Sweden (GLF)[20] | Gold | 50,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||